Sustainable Livelihoods
Bike recycling can supply secure jobs to the working poor in emerging nations. There are several highly successful programs in the USA today. Two standouts are The Village Bicycle Project (VBP) and Bikes Not Bombs (BNB). Both are non-profit companies based in the USA.
The Village Bicycle Project (VBP) distributes donated used bikes, bicycle repair training and new tools to provide sustainable transportation for thousands of people in Africa, where over 99% of the population cannot afford cars. In 1999, VBP was born when David Peckham went to Ghana to study ways to make bicycles more accessible. Since then, VBP has provided 36,000 bicycles, included 5,300 people in bicycle maintenance workshops, and distributed 14,000 tools across 8 African countries. The Village Bicycle Project has no paid administrative staff and obtains recycled bikes from the USA, Canada, England and New Zealand.
VBP is working with two Ghanaian businesses to bring the bikes though customs and distribute them. The Ghanaian companies provide 20 person workshops (85 estimated in 2008). After this one day course the participant can purchase a bicycle at a 50% discount. The two Ghanaian companies also sell a portion of each shipment to local small bicycle micro-enterprises. VBP and their Ghanaian businesses have established a wholesale distributor network for used bikes and parts.
Bikes Not Bombs (BNB) has sent over 33,000 bikes to Central America, the Caribbean, Africa as well as New Orleans in the last 24 years. VBP is the largest receiver and distributor of BNB bikes. BNB, working with Emmanuel’s Education Foundation and Sports Academy for the Physically Challenged (EEFSA), has established a bicycle workshop for “disabled” people in the city of Koforidua, Ghana. BNB also has its own Bike Repair facilities in the Boston area. Bike repair training classes are held for boys and girls.
Biking - 4 - Jobs Program: The potential to expand these fine programs is worth pursuing in the quest for secure jobs in emerging nations. Specifically, a bike recycling program can create jobs by:
- Training workers to repair bikes.
- Provides sales and marketing infrastructure for repaired and new bikes.
- Supports workers who buy these bikes for transportation.
- Can spawn new jobs—for instance in bike eco-tourism.
- Involves in-country Universities in the support of engineering programs.
- Can move bike technology to be more useful, maintainable and repairable.
- Could be revolutionary—how about a “B(ike)” Prize akin to the “X” Prize?
With good bikes thrown away in huge quantities in the USA, there is an opportunity to greatly expand these job-creating programs. Sponsors are now being solicited to assist financially in supporting an expanded bike recycling and training program that is scalable to support increasing global needs.
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